


A Hatstall, or Close Enough to it

by KyraAnnCoombes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Hatstall, Sorting fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-23
Updated: 2013-09-23
Packaged: 2017-12-27 11:19:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/978214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyraAnnCoombes/pseuds/KyraAnnCoombes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy Weasley is a textbook Slytherin. The Sorting Hat knows that, of course. So why does he end up in Gryffindor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Hatstall, or Close Enough to it

"You're a Slytherin, boy," the Hat had barely touched his ginger curls when he heard its velvety voice.

"I am?" he squeaked, color rising to his freckled cheeks. "That can't be, my whole family–"

"I know," the Hat interrupted, speaking slowly. "I sat on every one of their heads, you know. That's why you're not sitting at the table already." 

Percy bit his lip, thinking of what to say. His ears were red, he could feel it, and he was a bit panicked. He'd heard the way his family talked about Slytherin House. But then...

"You want great things, and you can achieve them with the help of Slytherin friends. You're more than pureblooded enough, for those who think that matters."

Silence. Percy nodded slowly. "I want to be Minister," he began, "but my family–"

"I know," the Hat repeated. "I hear quite a bit in the Headmaster's office. They've always been laughed at, and your Grandfather Septimus didn't improve things…" the Hat trailed off. Percy was unsure what his grandfather had done, but figured his Uncle Bilius was a more appropriate person to ask than the Sorting Hat.

"I don't want to be like my father," Percy confessed. "I don't want to be like anyone in my family. I'm…I'm tired of us being poor and laughed at. I want to be better than that. I want to be proud to be a Weasley." 

The Hat was silent once more. Percy realized suddenly that he may end up on the stool for long enough to be considered a hatstall, and his cheeks went from a soft pink to nearly magenta. The tall girl who'd been sent to Ravenclaw in an instant right before he sat down was studying him closely.

"Hmmmmm," the Hat groaned, shifting slightly on his head. "Most curious indeed." It went silent again, long enough for Percy to hear the Scottish boy who had been behind him in line asking Professor McGonagall why things were taking so long. The girl from Ravenclaw—Trigg, maybe?—had lost interest. Percy didn't dare look at the Slytherin or Gryffindor tables, for fear his sidelong glance could swing the Hat one way or the other, so he trained his eyes on the shoes of a fat boy at the front end of the Hufflepuff table and reflected on what the Hat had said.

"I….Mister Hat, sir, I think you might be right. I would be very good in Slytherin, and…and if my family doesn't like it, they'll learn to when I earn us some respect. Right?" he asked, hoping he'd made the right choice. 

The Hat shifted again. "You think so?"

Percy's face fell. He thought for sure that would have led to an answer. He straightened his shoulders and gave a small nod. "Yes."

The Hat gave a low chuckle, and Percy felt the cold air of the Great Hall tickle his scalp as the Hat opened wide the ripped seam in its brim. " **He's a GRYFFINDOR!** " the Hat shouted across the hall, causing Percy to spasm off the stool in shock.

Professor McGonagall stepped up in time to keep the ancient hat from falling to the ground, and stared pityingly down at Percy until he stood and dusted himself off. "Take a seat, dear," she said quietly, nodding towards her House's long table. He walked rather quickly and sat next to his eldest brother, but didn't speak a word.

* * *

As a Prefect and then Head Boy, Percy Weasley spent what he considered to be a great deal of time in the Headmaster's office, conferring about discipline and exchanging his illuminated thoughts with Professor Dumbledore. But he avoided looking directly at the Sorting Hat. Even all these years later he was burningly curious as to why the Hat had put him in Gryffindor once he'd decided on Slytherin.

The Hat looked at him, though. Every so often, when it was bored of trying to find a rhyme or double checking the meter of the next year's song, its deep, old eye sockets would follow Percy around the office.

"You would have been an excellent Slytherin, boy," it thought one of these times, as Percy puffed his chest towards a younger Prefect. "And the courage to acknowledge that is what made you a Gryffindor."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this made sense! I literally created the head canon and spat this out in less than two hours. Percy didn't end up being a true hatstall, mind you—that's more than five minutes—but he was very close to it. I think the Hat realized that putting Percy in Slytherin would have caused more trouble than good, and the final result reflects that.


End file.
